Matt Schaub has had some recent bad moments as the Houston Texans' quarterback. But he deserves a break from the anxious Texans' faithful. His late-game, "pick six" with the game tied 20-20 contributed to the Texans squandering a 20-3 halftime lead and losing to the Seattle Seahawks, 23-20 in overtime. It's the third-straight game Schaub has been "pick-sixed" by an opponent.

Since the Texans traded for the former Atlanta Falcons backup before the 2007 season, he's been one of the steadiest starters in the league. He led the NFL in passing yards in '09. Last year, he shook off concerns about durability after missing the franchises' first playoff trip in '11 because of a late-season foot injury.

Things were going great in '12 until Week 13 against the Patriots. The Texans went into the game at 11-1, in control of the AFC's top seed with a chance to make a statement on Monday Night Football.

Instead, Schaub and the offense struggled, and the defense was picked apart in a 42-14 loss to New England. Schaub and the Texans also lost their final two games of the regular season, and in his first playoff win over Cincinnati, the Bengals still got to him for a "pick six." The playoffs then ended with another losing duel to Tom Brady and the Patriots.

It's hard to remember all the good times, when the bad times are so forgettable, though. Through four games this season, Schaub has thrown half as many interceptions (6) as he did all of season, and his passer rating (85.2) has never been this low as a Texan.

Forgotten already is the great second-half comeback work he did against San Diego and Tennessee to help Houston open with two wins. That's because he's struggled against the reigning Super Bowl champions (Baltimore) and the current Super Bowl favorites (Seattle) the past two weeks.

The fact is, Schaub is a strong passer when he's well protected, doesn't face consistent pressure and can play off the running game with play-action and bootlegs in Gary Kubiak's classic West Coast scheme. Consider Schaub has been sacked 11 times, at a rate he's never experienced as Texans' quarterback. It hasn't been easy with the best blindside pass protector in the game, left tackle Duane Brown (toe), out of the lineup.

Super Bowl run or not, Schaub is still dependable. But like most "human" signal-callers, he's also dependent. Like or it not, when Eli Manning, Joe Flacco and Ben Roethlisberger get into interception slumps, they get more of a free pass because, unlike Schaub, they've won the Super Bowl before.

Schaub doesn't deserve all the blame for the Texans' loss, but he'll get it anyway. It may be time for Houston to start looking for a draft replacement for the 32-year-old Schaub. There's a chance with big paydays ahead, he isn't the most cost-efficient passer for them beyond 2013.

But for now, Schaub's good still outweighs his bad, and just like he's not the only reason for their wins, he's also not the only reason for their losses.